Important Vaccine Information and Considerations

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Martinez Pediatrics PC  offers the Moderna Vaccine which has received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people age 16 and older. This vaccine has been proven to be highly effective at preventing severe disease.

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Why do healthy people need to be vaccinated?

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When healthy people are vaccinated, they help reduce the spread of COVID-19 by limiting the virus’s opportunity to spread from person to person. Vaccination is also a way that healthy people can protect people who are at high risk for complications from contracting COVID-19. By getting vaccinated, you are protecting yourself, your family, and your community by helping control the spread of the disease.

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If I had COVID-19, do I need to be vaccinated?

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There is evidence that natural immunity continues beyond six months after the initial infection, but more research is needed. While we learn more about this, the CDC recommends that you receive the vaccine, although you can defer for three to six months after you have received a COVID-19 diagnosis.

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How can I be sure the vaccine is safe?

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Tens of millions of Americans have received the COVID-19 vaccine, and millions more receive the vaccine each day. Tens of thousands of people received the COVID-19 vaccine during the clinical trial process. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewed data from those extensive clinical trials, which showed that the vaccine is safe and that its benefits outweigh its known or potential risks.

Vaccines work by priming the body’s immune system to fight the virus. Vaccine reactions, such as a sore arm, headache, fatigue, or nausea, are normal and are signs that the body is responding to the vaccine.

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We encourage our patients to talk with their pediatrician about any questions or concerns they have about the vaccine, so they can make an informed decision.

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Can I get COVID-19 from the vaccine?

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No, you can’t get COVID-19 from any of the COVID-19 vaccines because they do not contain elements that are capable of making you sick. 

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The Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use messenger RNA (mRNA) to send a message to the cells on how to make a certain harmless spike protein that is unique to the virus that causes COVID-19.

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With both vaccines, your cells use the mRNA information to create a unique spike protein that is found on the surface of the coronavirus. The protein on its own cannot make you sick. But it plays an important role: it introduces your immune system to a protein that it has never seen before, and gives it the opportunity to create antibodies against it. This way, if your body is ever confronted by the actual coronavirus, your immune system already knows which antibodies it needs to kill the virus and protect you from illness.

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Scheduling

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Please do not schedule a vaccination or come to be vaccinated if any of the following statements apply to you:

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• You received your first dose of the vaccine somewhere else. Please schedule your second dose at the same location you received your first dose.

• You are currently feeling sick.

• You have an active COVID-19 infection. You can schedule 10 days after you have received a positive COVID-19 test result or 72 hours after your fever ends.

• You received a COVID-19 diagnosis and were treated with COVID-19 monoclonal antibody infusions or convalescent plasma within the past 90 days.

• You have had any vaccine in the past 14 days.

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This vaccine requires two doses. You will be offered appointments between three and four weeks after your first dose.